Any reason not to use this cable for 4-wire humbuckers?

[Rick Turner]

That's the wire I use and have been using for about twenty years for my humbuckers. It's great stuff as are their other small wires. We use the Mogami two conductor, single conductor, and the ultra-miniature coax for various types of harness wiring and pickup leadouts for both magnetics and piezos. If you're having issues with the insulation melting back, maybe you need to learn how to solder, and maybe you need to get a decent soldering station. I strip the stuff with a Meisei HotWeezers setup. If I'm doing a lot of wire prep, I'll tin lead ends in a solder pot. And as Joe says, work hot, get in and get out quickly. Yeah, learn how to solder...

[Mark Hammer]

Probably sacrilege, but I use CD-to-soundcard connector cables, like these: 24in MPC-4 CD-ROM Audio Cable for only $0.55 | PC Parts - Cable Leader They're dirt cheap, and plentiful.

They're 28awg, and have 2 conductors and a nice stranded shield. Not 4-conductor, I know, but easy to solder, and able to provide a hot lead, a lead from the junction of the two coils, and a ground. Couldn't tell you what the capacitance is, but for the negligible distance travelled, I'm not worried.

[big_teee]

I use the same type wire that Duncan, DiMarzio, Gibson, and at least 95% of the pickup manufactures use.
It works great, and it is the ColorCode standard.
Use whatever you want to, and what works for you, I do!
That is why they make different kinds.
Choices we need lots of them!
There are different ways to Skin the Same Cat!
Mark I don't see anything wrong with that, and they are cheap too!
T

[David King]

I'm going to start using bread bag ties to wire my HB pickups and based on personal experience there is actually only one way to skin a damn cat and that's a fact.

[big_teee]

based on personal experience there is actually only one way to skin a damn cat and that's a fact.

Do you have pictures and everything?
I haven't skunt the Cat, but I have Cut the Dog!

[Joe Gwinn]

I use the WTCPT Solder Station, It has all the heat I need.

That's what I used since the 1970s, and discovered how to solder solder-eze magnet wire to terminals in nylon bobbins. I kept melting the bobbins, and the lower the wattage the worse it got. But millions of these bobbins a year are soldered without problem, so I must be doing something wrong. So I went the other way. Used a 3/16" wide spade tip at 800 F. That worked, with a puff of smoke. Bobbin didn't have time to melt.

I still have the WTCP, but upgraded to a WES51, which allows me to change temperature by twisting a knob.


War story: I had a summer job at RCA in the late 1960s, when they had contracts to make various components that were literally going to the Moon. Evereything was none in accordance with various NASA specifications. What was used for soldering were Weller TCP soldering stations (the predecessor of the WTCP). I wanted a real soldering iron, and I thought that if it was good enough for NASA, it was good enough for me. It cost something like $70 in 1968, which was real money then - it would be $480 today. But the patents expired, and competition happened. And I never regretted the purchase.

[big_teee]

That's what I used since the 1970s, and discovered how to solder solder-eze magnet wire to terminals in nylon bobbins. I kept melting the bobbins, and the lower the wattage the worse it got. But millions of these bobbins a year are soldered without problem, so I must be doing something wrong. So I went the other way. Used a 3/16" wide spade tip at 800 F. That worked, with a puff of smoke. Bobbin didn't have time to melt.

I still have the WTCP, but upgraded to a WES51, which allows me to change temperature by twisting a knob.


War story: I had a summer job at RCA in the late 1960s, when they had contracts to make various components that were literally going to the Moon. Evereything was none in accordance with various NASA specifications. What was used for soldering were Weller TCP soldering stations (the predecessor of the WTCP). I wanted a real soldering iron, and I thought that if it was good enough for NASA, it was good enough for me. It cost something like $70 in 1968, which was real money then - it would be $480 today. But the patents expired, and competition happened. And I never regretted the purchase.

I love the WTCPT, it does everything I expect from it.
I have about 30 tips to fit it, leftover from the Comm tech job, before retirement.
I have all my cable and pickup issues worked out right now.
No reason to change anything.
I am going to order some of the WD cable like David S. uses, it looks good, and is cheap enough, at $0.45 a foot.
If I don't like it, I'll go back to the mojo cable.
T

[David King]

Just as an update to this thread. I was soldering some of the Mogami twisted pair console wire on a pickup yesterday and there was no shrinkback of the insulation. The other nice thing about this wire is that it has 19 strands instead of 7 and each conductor is reinforced with nylon/poly solderable thread which makes it virtually unbreakable along with the superior flexibility. It's night and day when compared to the Beldon stuff. Probably overkill for pickups.

[David Schwab]

That's what I used since the 1970s, and discovered how to solder solder-eze magnet wire to terminals in nylon bobbins. I kept melting the bobbins, and the lower the wattage the worse it got. But millions of these bobbins a year are soldered without problem, so I must be doing something wrong. So I went the other way. Used a 3/16" wide spade tip at 800 F. That worked, with a puff of smoke. Bobbin didn't have time to melt.

I still have the WTCP, but upgraded to a WES51, which allows me to change temperature by twisting a knob.

War story: I had a summer job at RCA in the late 1960s, when they had contracts to make various components that were literally going to the Moon. Evereything was none in accordance with various NASA specifications. What was used for soldering were Weller TCP soldering stations (the predecessor of the WTCP). I wanted a real soldering iron, and I thought that if it was good enough for NASA, it was good enough for me. It cost something like $70 in 1968, which was real money then - it would be $480 today. But the patents expired, and competition happened. And I never regretted the purchase.

My first soldering station was a Hexacon Therm-O-Trac I got from when I worked at ITT back in the 70s. That was a very nice unit, until one day it stopped regulating its temperature, and the tip glowed cherry red! Fixing it was out of my budget at the time! They go for about $550 now.

Now I use an Aoyue 937+. I set it to about 700° F.

[Joe Gwinn]

My first soldering station was a Hexacon Therm-O-Trac I got from when I worked at ITT back in the 70s. That was a very nice unit, until one day it stopped regulating its temperature, and the tip glowed cherry red! Fixing it was out of my budget at the time! They go for about $550 now.

Do you still have it? It's probably worth fixing. Replacement parts are available.

Now I use an Aoyue 937+. I set it to about 700° F.

I looked it up. It seems to be a clone of the Weller WES51 series. What did the Aoyue cost? I got my WES51 for $99 on clearance sale.

[David Schwab]

Do you still have it? It's probably worth fixing. Replacement parts are available.

Sadly no. I don't recall what happened to it, but I think it was in a flood in my basement.

I looked it up. It seems to be a clone of the Weller WES51 series. What did the Aoyue cost? I got my WES51 for $99 on clearance sale.

It's clone of a Hakko. From what I understand, it's made in the same Chinese factory. The main difference is the Hakko uses a 65W heating element, and the Aoyue uses a 35W element. You can replace it with the 65 Watt, which they call the "Japanese" heating element. The irons are interchangeable between the two brands. I paid $48 for it Sept 2012. I also have the 936, which doesn't have the digital display. That's a clone of the Hakko 936, but was $37 instead of $90 (in 2009).

[the great waldo]

Hi All

I just ran out of 4 core and chopped up a usb cable copper braided shield over a foil + separate earth wire + sd correct colours anyone know of any objections ?

Cheers

Andrew

[Joe Gwinn]

I just ran out of 4 core and chopped up a usb cable copper braided shield over a foil + separate earth wire + sd correct colours anyone know of any objections ?

What brand was the USB cable? You seem to have gotten a well-made one. Not all are that that good.

In any event, it ought to work just fine for pickups.

Who knew that USB cables followed SD standards?

[the great waldo]

Hi Joe

I'm not sure what brand it is (it's in my other workshop) But i'll have a look on Monday to see if it's got any markings. The other nice thing is that it was a tad thicker and helped support the bobbin a little from tilting over when screwed down.
Cheers

Andrew

[David Schwab]

Who knew that USB cables followed SD standards?

They don't, they follow DiMarzio standards.

(it all depends on how you wire up the pickup)

I'd guess that red, green, black, and white were common colors when DiMarzio sourced 4-conductor cable back in the 70s.